Apr 04, 2026
3 min read
Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages hit home runs to lead the Dodgers to a 13-6 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday.
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WASHINGTON — Shohei Ohtani walked out of the batter's box like someone who knew the change he had just made and headed for the right field seats at Nationals Park.
It took him 20 at-bats, but with three homers, Ohtani finally got his first extra base hit of the season.
The Dodgers' 13-6 victory on Friday was fueled by Ohtani's overtime attack from the top of the batting order.
"Rome isn't burning," manager Dave Roberts said with a smile after the game.
It's very early in the season, but the Dodgers' star-studded lineup is struggling at the plate, most recently a 4-1 loss to Cleveland.
Entering the series, Ohtani, Kyle Tucker and Mookie Betts combined for a .541 OPS, the worst mark of any No. 1 hitter.Freddie Freeman, batting fourth against Nationals right-hander Miles Mikolas, didn't fare much better, except for some hard contact.He owns a .615 OPS heading into Friday.
Then came the lesson with small sample sizes.All four returned Friday — Ohtani, Betts, Freeman off Mikulas, and Tucker against lefty reliever Ken Waldychuk.(For Tucker, this also marked his first home run with the Dodgers.)
"It's a new day," Betts said."Indeed. There's no panicking here. It's been a week. It might not be our last week without getting killed, so you can't get emotional. Just stay the course."
Ohtani's homer started the Dodgers' soft bounce.Then Tucker got a hit, and Betts dropped a two-run homer into the visitors' bullpen.
Two innings later, Betts lined a single to center field before Freeman homered on another cover behind right field.Tucker capped what became a four-run rally with a loaded single through the right side.
Suddenly — with some opportunities to lose those up the middle, Mikolas, who had a 7.20 ERA in his final season with the Cardinals — at the top of the Dodgers' batting order is performing close to expectations.
Add in Andy Pages' second home run and Teoscar Hernández's RBI double, and the Dodgers scored 11 runs against Mikolas in 4 ⅓ innings, giving him the National record for runs scored in a game.
The cushion came in handy as Dodgers starter Emmett Sheehan slowly settled down.
“With our offense, we're just trying to give them a chance,” Sheehan said after allowing four runs and seven hits in 5 ⅔ innings.
He consistently gave up tough contact in the first inning, including a three-run homer against CJ Abrams.And Abrams kept chasing him, adding an RBI single in the third.
Sheehan didn't give up a run the rest of the way, though, giving up two outs in the sixth.
"He looked like a big league starter and not a guy who cut your teeth," Roberts said of the way Sheehan finished.
This team still has its flaws, though the top of the order certainly belies concerns about their early performance.
Injuries have raised questions about starting pitching depth.Sheehan and Roki Sasaki continue to work out mechanical inconsistencies, so it's unclear how deep they'll throw the ball in any given start.
The Dodgers also lack a safety net as they look to insert Justin Wrobleski into the rotation as the sixth starter.He could still be throwing an inning in the bullpen on Sunday, Roberts said.
"The way they're built, the bet is we're going to take that opportunity with two multi-pitch relievers, while also giving the starters an extra day and trusting that Justin is built enough to give us a long start on opening day," Roberts said."All things considered, it's a decision we've made."
As the turn awaits adjustment and health; Getting a rolling offense can do a lot to mask any holes in the pitching side.
The Nationals made up ground late in the game, scoring two runs against Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez.But they never threatened to return.
But the Dodgers continued to disappear.In fact, Ohtani also drove in the Dodgers' last career, a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the left and center field warning track in the ninth.
Roberts pointed to promising mid-level contact for Ohtani, who was two for five with four RBIs.
"I thought he was hitting better," Roberts said."Sometimes he gets a little complacent."
He got back on track for at least one game, but then batters got behind him.
"Hopefully we can come back and do it tomorrow and the day after and the day after," Tucker said."Hopefully this is just the start of a really good offensive year for us. It's not always going to be every single game or the whole season, but if you can grind out hits, walks, runs, get on base and try to win a game, you're going to be in a good place."
